Stefan's Hoodie
by x all over you
Summary: What do you do when you realize that maybe you haven't moved on after all? Three months since she's been 'back' and she feels like she's living in a world that no longer has a place for her in it. All she wants is to feel normal again. Stelena.


A/N: This is set in the future after Elena wakes up. This was originally planned just as a oneshot, but depending on the response I might add a few more parts. Who knows. Be kind - review, fav to your heart's desire.

For as long as she could remember, Elena had never really been a morning person. The only thing that could ever get her through the early morning hours of the day was coffee - and lots of it. She loved her sleep. Welcomed it at night in her warm and cozy bed and welcomed the luxury of sleeping in even more. After being asleep for the last seventeen years, it was the last thing she wanted to do.

It was mornings like today that got her thinking about her life. About her past, about her future. Everything had changed - she was literally two decades behind everyone. Even making coffee for the first time had became a traumatic event. These days people are making coffee using their cell phone and texting using something called a smart watch. Damon of course wants all the newest and most expensive technology around ironically enough and all she wants to do is make a single pot of coffee in the morning to keep her company with her morning crossword. Needless to say they have two coffee makers, one of which she had found collecting dust in their attic.

She had already missed so much, she couldn't even think about having to miss anything else. Her little brother was not so little anymore and in fact could pass for her father these days. Married with two kids, Jeremy was leading the life she had always wanted. Everyone had moved on with their lives - something she had asked them all to do but here she was still nineteen and juggling college and a part-time job. No one knew about her insomnia or the fact that she was struggling to keep it all together. She was good at pretending though. She was awake, she was human and she had Damon. What else could she want? Still there was this overwhelming feeling of something missing in her life. And for the life of her she just couldn't figure it out.

Usually it's Stefan that joins her first in the morning for some coffee, so she's a bit surprised when she sees Caroline practically skipping her way into the kitchen. She gives her friend a smile and a nod of her head before murmuring a quiet, "Morning."

It's only when she's opening the fridge that it really dawns on her for the first time just what she's doing here. In nothing but one of Stefan's nicer dress shirts, she can only assume she's spent the night. It's something she's not actually had a chance to get used to. It's not the fact that her and Stefan are a thing, because she has Damon, she's moved on long time ago - it's more of the fact that they're a serious thing. She's not had time to process that information. Just before the curse she had only really learned about Caroline and her feelings for him. Now they had been together longer than she and Stefan had dated, she had kids ( two of them with Alaric nonetheless, which had been another shocker for another day ) and now he was playing step-daddy? It was just all weird and confusing. Her mind just couldn't wrap around half of the things that had happened in the time she had been 'gone'.

"You think we could grab lunch later today? I had something I wanted to ask you about.."

"Yeah sure, that sounds cool. I should be free around noon. I've only got one class today."

"Great! See you then!"

* * *

"You guys are getting married?!" Elena's eyes went wide not really knowing what else to say.

She should have known it was something serious, when the blonde asked if she wanted to have lunch. Between being a mom, handling her fashion line and Stefan she hardly ever saw the girl these days. This morning had only been probably the third time she had seen her since waking up three months ago.

"We actually have been engaged for awhile now. We just didn't know how to break the news to you. We know you've had to deal with a lot of change lately.."

For some reason she can't help but think that this was Stefan's idea. Keeping her in the dark to protect her in some way. Always trying to be the hero. She hated that everyone felt like they had to walk on eggshells around her. She wasn't broken, she didn't need to be fixed. She just needed time. She most definitely did not need to be babied and her hand held through every little hurdle she faced. She liked to think she was a big girl and could handle herself. But apparently that wasn't the way everyone saw her.

"I was hoping that you would do the honor of being my maid of honor too.."

And that's when it hit her. Like a fucking ton of bricks. Bonnie. The one word no one dared to mutter around her. She must have been Caroline's maid of honor. And that's why they had waited so long to tell her about the wedding and then asking her to stand up for her. The guilt she felt was almost suffocating. She was supposed to have lived her life. And after a freak accident, Bonnie was gone and then she was suddenly back in her place so to speak.

She frowned and then nodded, tears welling in her eyes. She leaned in and hugged her best friend tightly, "Of course I will. I can't imagine being anywhere else but beside you on your big day."

* * *

The next couple of weeks go by pretty smoothly. Instead of sinking she finally feels like she's swimming. She can breathe again. But then she can't find a single pair of matching socks and it all goes to hell. She's grown accustom to them having a housekeeper that laundry is the last thing on her mind. And apparently Damon had ran her off after the poor lady accidentally shattered one of his precious bottles of bourbon. So literally every single piece of clothing in the house is dirty, and her boyfriend's solution? His credit card- to go buy new clothes. Lucky for him she's not one of those girls so she instead takes it upon herself to spend the day catching up the laundry.

After gathering up all of her clothes and bringing them down to the laundry room, she goes back upstairs and starts collecting everyone else's. It feels good to be doing something productive, it takes her mind off everything for awhile. It feels normal, and God knows she could use a little normal right now. She needs something to feel normal again. Anything.

She's collected her and Damon's things. All that's left is Stefan's. Out of him and Damon she imagines he would be more likely to do his own laundry, but she figured she might as well check. She goes inside and it's like an instant and consuming feeling of deja vu. It's like nothing has changed. The only exception being his bed and tv. Slowly she runs her fingers along his books and smiles at a few of her favorites. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Pride And Prejudice. He has all the classics. First editions, of course he'd never get rid of them. And then she spots another book shelf housing all of his journals and she can't help but want to sneak a peek into the last few of them. Reading his version of their lives while she was gone seems like it would have been a lot easier on her then being completely blindsided and bombarded with everything all at once.

She resists the urge to pull one out and completely lose herself in his words, and makes her way towards his clothes basket. She grabs his clothes and pulls them all out to put with the rest she's taking down to wash. She looks around to make sure she's not missing anything else. She passes his chair and catches a glimpse of a hoodie hanging on the back of it. She turns around to grab it but stops dead in her tracks when she reaches for it.

 _"It's late, I should probably be getting you home. I had a really good time tonight though.."_

 _She really hates that the night is over, but it's getting dark and dangerously close to her curfew. It's only like their third date so he took her out for dinner and some horror movie she wanted to see. Needless to say they didn't get to see a whole lot of it considering neither one of them could keep their lips off one another. Not that she minded in the least though. Even though she doesn't think Jenna would kill her if she was a little late getting home. She refuses to be one of those girls - the ones that lets boys completely fog up their minds 24-7. Just because she has a boyfriend now, it doesn't mean that her sensibilities have to change._

 _"Yeah me too.. Maybe we could do it again sometime soon?" she shivers a bit from the chilly Fall night._

 _It's just the beginning of Fall so it's that weird bi-polar weather where it can't decide whether or not it wants to be hot or cold. She's in jeans and a t-shirt but she's starting to get goosebumps. It's times like these that she kicks herself for forgetting her jacket. And then it's times like these that she realizes how lucky she is to call him hers. Without a word he unzips the hoodie he's wearing and helps her get her arms into it. She leans in and gives him a quick kiss, giving her thanks._

 _"And they said chivalry is dead.." she teases him, not able to help herself._

 _"I guess dating someone that is over a century old has it's perks.." he chuckles and shrugs._

 _"Mm, maybe a few.." she wraps her arms around his neck and covers his lips with hers once more._

 _There's a good chance she might not make curfew after all._

The memory is bittersweet. She quickly wipes away tears as they threaten to fall. Three months and this is closest to feeling normal again she's ever gotten.


End file.
